"Well…don’t they just make a handsome couple. I’ll bet they looked even better together when they were such GOOD FRIENDS in college." As Brenda turned around to see who the voice belonged to, she inhaled sharply as she saw Carly Morgan standing there. She smiled acidly. "Good evening, Mrs. Jacks. Isn’t it a shame you couldn’t bring the children along with you tonight so that you could keep up that wholesome façade you love to put on!"

Brenda tried to ignore her rudeness. "Good evening, Carly. I hope you’re having a nice time, too."

"Yes, well, I always have a nice time when I see two lovers reunited after so long."

Brenda looked befuddled. "Excuse me?"

Carly homed in on what she saw as Brenda’s ignorance. "Jax and Lea," she nodded towards the dance floor. "Or I guess he never told you that they had a torrid affair when they were in college, did he?"

Brenda took a deep breath to try to maintain her calm. "First of all, Carly, I think you’re being pretty hypocritical, accusing us of using our children to project a wholesome image. As I recall, YOU had YOUR son at the Cassidine Halloween party, too. After all, that WAS the whole reason that any of us were supposed to be there -- a party for the children. Of course, I saw that YOU were using that opportunity to score a few points for your political campaign." Brenda looked out towards where Jax was still enjoying his dance with Lea. "Obviously my husband felt secure enough that he could let the children enjoy their holiday and campaign for the seat on his own time."

Carly nodded. "Right......and that’s why he had his political watchdog with him there that night." She glanced at Kimberly, who was involved in a heated conversation with some other representatives across the room.

"Jax had no idea that Kimberly was going to show up. She’s an old friend of the family, and she and Jax’s grandmother actually spent a great deal of time together that evening."

"Brenda, Brenda," Carly laughed condescendingly. "You just don’t want to pull your head out of the sand, do you?" She gave a theatrical sigh. "Although, I suppose if Jax was MY husband, I wouldn’t want to admit the possibility that he was attracted to another woman, either."

"Jax is NOT attracted to any other woman, Carly. We are still very much in love. In fact, we were just discussing that fact while we were dancing -- not that it’s any of your business."

Carly smiled serenely. "Of course you are, Brenda. And I’m sure that you both are completely honest with each other, right?" Brenda sat silently, so Carly went on. "But if you are, then why didn’t you seem to know about the affair he had with Lea while they were in college?" Carly looked towards them and then back at Brenda. "I must say, though -- it certainly does explain a lot."

"I’m sure you have a point to make here, Carly, but right now it’s beyond me," Brenda replied, trying to hide her growing sense of panic.

"Well, I would think it would be pretty obvious. I was surprised when I found out that Lea had approached Jax to run for Representative Cunningham’s seat, but now it makes perfect sense. Obviously she thinks that by having him closer to her, it’ll be much easier to just pick up where they left off." Brenda’s mouth dropped open and Carly saw she had scored a point with her barb.

Tears were beginning to gather in Brenda’s eyes when she heard a voice behind her that sounded like her guardian angel. "Well, ladies, it looks like I’m missing out on all the good stuff. Wazzup?" Josie came to stand behind a seated Brenda, putting her hand on her back as a sign of support.

"Good evening, Mrs. Jacks," Carly said sweetly. "Brenda and I were just catching up on some current events -- and some history, weren’t we Brenda?"

Brenda smiled just as sweetly. "Yes, Grandma. Carly was just being a real darling and enlightening me to the fact that Jax and Lea had an affair when they were in college." She could feel Josie’s hand grip the back of her chair in anger. "Carly seems to think that’s the reason why Lea asked Jax to run for the house seat. She thinks they’re just itching to start up where they left off." Brenda turned to Josie with tears visible in her eyes. "Isn’t that interesting, Grandma?"

Josie pulled herself up as tall as her five-foot frame would allow and her eyes spat fire at Carly. "Well now, Mrs. Morgan. I don’t know what makes you think you’re such an expert on our family history, but you should know that if you intend to tangle with me, the old field fertilizer will REALLY hit the air movement machine!" Carly looked totally confused and Josie looked down at Brenda. "Don’t you just love that one? Jo Ellen will NEVER be able to figure that one out! But I think she’s onto me with that whole Hoover and Bagnell thing."

Carly still didn’t look intimidated. "Are you denying that Jax and Lea had an affair when they were in college?"

Brenda looked at Josie, desperately hoping to hear her deny the accusation. "What Jasper and Lea did when they were in college isn’t the point here," Josie said calmly. "The point is that he’s married to Brenda now, and they are very much in love, and he is NOT having, or planning to have, an affair with Lea! If he WAS attracted to her, why wouldn’t he have renewed their relationship long before now?"

Brenda’s heart sank. Although neither she nor Jax had been celibate before they met, she had hoped Josie would just squash Carly’s gossip like a bug. But she tried to take comfort in the fact that what Josie said was right -- she knew he had been faithful to her ever since they had been married. Jax had told her once that he wasn’t even attracted to any other women, even during their brief break-up right before their wedding.

But Carly was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t let the matter drop. "Oh, I don’t know about that, Mrs. Jacks. What’s that old saying they have about absence making the heart grow fonder? Maybe the longer they were apart, the stronger the attraction grew."

Brenda felt Josie’s hand gripping her back like a claw, and realized that she was exercising extreme will-power in not decking Carly on the spot. "Mrs. Morgan," Josie began, "although I think that most of what you’re saying is a pile of horse poopy, I will admit that you’ve got a point about old sayings being true sometimes." Brenda smiled inwardly as she got that "imminent-train-wreck" feeling again. "I mean," Josie continued, gesturing towards Carly with her hand, "look at you tonight. All decked out in your best duds. Looking all shiny and special and nice." Josie looked down at Brenda. "What’s that old saying they have about making a silk purse out of a pig’s @ss? Guess they’re not always right -- sometimes a pig’s @ss is just a pig’s @ss."

Carly looked flushed, but tried to shift the attention back to Josie. "I think your age is showing, Mrs. Jacks," she said snidely. "The saying refers to a sow’s ear, not......well......what you said," she said with a chuckle.

Josie joined her in the chuckle but Brenda knew she was deadly serious. "Oh, that’s right, isn’t it, honeybuns?" Her face lost its smile. "I guess I had the right animal, just the wrong end. Although, somehow ..... I still think I was right in the first place."

Carly inhaled a long breath, but just as she was getting ready to explode, Kimberly came up behind the trio. "Carly Morgan! Just the person I’ve been looking for!"

Josie leaned down to whisper in Brenda’s ear. "Why does that not surprise me? I guess it’s true -- Pigs of a feather slop together."

Kimberly had seen the situation from across the ballroom and had practically flown over before either Brenda or Josie could say something she would have to work for 48 hours to re-spin. She moved over to Carly and smoothly took her by the arm. "You know -- Jasper has been really anxious to set up a time for a debate. Why don’t we go right out there now and drag him off the dance floor and sit down and check our day-planners together?" Carly’s face brightened at the prospect of finally getting to face her political opponent in the public spotlight, so she and Kimberly were off towards Jax and Lea before Brenda could take a breath.

She looked at Josie, who had pulled a chair out to sit beside her. "Are you OK, honeybuns? I saw that harpy lighting into you and I figured you could use some reinforcements."

Brenda nodded gratefully and took Josie’s hand. "You were right as usual, Grandma." She looked out at Carly and Kimberly, who had gotten to Jax just as the music had ended and they were applauding. They watched as Kimberly began talking and smiling, and although Jax didn’t look pleased, he was soon following both of them to a table, looking rather bored with the entire proceeding. She stared back into Josie’s eyes. "Did Jax and Lea really have an affair in college, Grandma?"

Josie took a deep breath. "I’m not really sure, Brenda. But does it matter? To me, all that should matter to you now is that Jax loves you, and only you. All that nonsense she was spouting about them carrying on if he would be in Albany was just that -- nonsense. I happen to know that Lea is a happily married woman with a wonderful husband and a handsome son, and how you could ever think Jax would look at any other woman besides you is beyond me." She squeezed Brenda’s hands. "You know you two were meant to be together, honeybuns. Nothing’s ever going to change that."

Brenda’s eyes were filling with tears at Josie’s words, and she leaned over and gave the woman a hug. "What would I ever do without you, Grandma?" she asked.

"Well, according to my doctor, you won’t have to find out for quite a while," Josie cackled, "although Miss Kimmy over there certainly is enough to give anyone palpitations!"

Brenda nodded and both women watched her working with Jax and Carly. Some of Carly’s bodyguards had followed her discreetly to the table, and Brenda couldn’t help but notice that they positioned themselves behind and above Kimberly, giving them an excellent view down her dress.

Brenda shook her head, and then took a deep breath. "Grandma, you’ve known Kimberly since she was a little girl, right?" Josie nodded, and Brenda tried to think exactly how to phrase the question. "Was she always that....I mean, did she always have.....I mean....." Brenda looked over at her again and at the one bodyguard, whose face was growing very red as he stood behind Kimberly.

"Are you trying to diplomatically ask me if Kimmy’s bazooms are real, honey?" Josie said in a low voice, and Brenda nodded quickly. She pulled her chair in closer to the table and scooted Brenda to sit close beside her so that nobody else could overhear their conversation. "Well, I’ll just put it this way. You know that slurpy/burpy doll that Jo Ellen wants so much, and you can only buy it at Toys ‘R Us?" Brenda nodded, but looked confused. "Well, I would bet money that Miss Kimmy got those two overhang thingies of hers at the surgical center next door, Tits ‘R Us."

Brenda put her hand to her mouth to stifle her laugh. "You really think so?"

Josie nodded seriously. "Yep. But we could always ask an expert, if you really want to know." Brenda shook her head and scrunched her eyebrows as she failed to understand, but Josie just looked around calmly. She scanned the room for a few minutes, and then caught the eye of the person she was looking for. After a few more minutes, the person caught her look and when Josie crooked her finger, Jerry came strolling over to the table.

Josie patted the seat of the chair next to her. "Have a seat, Jerry. There’s something I need to ask you."

Jerry looked disgusted but sat down anyway. "Ohhhh, no, Grandma. Not again. You can go ahead and threaten to make me polish your Bentley for the rest of my natural life, but I REFUSE to dance the Macarena with you tonight!"

Josie looked shocked, putting her hand to her chest dramatically. "Jerry! You wound me! As if you think I would do such a thing!" She shook her head. "Besides," she muttered, "I’m afraid if I wiggle my hips too much tonight doing the Macarena I’ll throw my joint replacement out again. ANYWAY -- that’s not why I wanted you to come over here. Brenda and I need your expert advice on something."

Jerry nodded. "Ahhh, something of a gutter nature, I presume?"

"Precisely," Josie replied. Brenda just shook her head and smiled at the rapport between the two of them. "Brenda here wants to know whether or not Miss Kimmy has implants."

Jerry looked over at where Kimberly and Jax had been sitting with Carly, only to see Carly leave the table. Kimberly smiled and said something to Jax, and after he got a slightly pained look on his face, he stood and extended his hand to her. She took it coyly and to Brenda’s displeasure, they moved onto the dance floor where he took her into his arms, although at a polite distance. Jerry leaned back in his chair. "No doubt about it in my mind. They’re fake."

Brenda looked surprised at his conviction. "Really? You think so?"

Jerry nodded. "Absolutely. I would bet my life on it."

Brenda leaned forward, as did her two conspirators in gossip. "How can you tell?"

Jerry crossed his arms. "Well, I had a pretty good hunch when I first met her, but then there’s just certain things she does that give it away." He glanced out at the dance floor. "There -- like that. Did you just see that?"

Brenda looked confused, but Josie just sat there with an "I-told-you-so" look on her face. "No. What?"

Jerry leaned down closer to Brenda. "Watch her dancing with Jax. See -- just then. He was turning to go towards the right across the room, but her boobs were still going left."

"Now, Jerry .....I think you’re teasing me a little. Come on -- be truthful."

Jerry put his hand over his heart. "Would I do that?" He watched them a little more. "Nope. I can just tell by the way she moves." He turned to Josie. "Of course, I could be 100% sure if I could just get her to lay down."

"JERRY!" Brenda gasped. "I don’t mean for you to ruin your marriage! I was just curious, that’s all! I never meant to suggest that you should have sex with her to investigate!"

"I didn’t either, love!" Jerry laughed. "Sex with Kimmy -- now there’s a truly nauseating thought. No -- I just meant that the one way to be sure if they’re implants or not is to see her lying down on her back." He looked to Josie for reinforcements.

Josie nodded seriously, and Brenda couldn’t believe the two of them. "He’s right, honeybuns. That’s the acid test."

Brenda put her head in her hands. "I know I’m going to hate myself for asking, but what does lying down on her back have to do with her boobs?"

Jerry took a breath to speak, but Josie put her hand up to stop him. "I’ll handle this one, Jerry." She turned slightly to Brenda. "You see, normal boobs and implants don’t behave the same way when a woman lies down." Brenda still looked confused. "Maybe I can explain it better if I tell you about Estelle Farthingworth and her fake boobs."

"OK, I’ll bite. Who’s Estelle Farthingworth?" Brenda shook her head, wishing she had never gotten into the discussion.

"Well, you remember that bunch of rich old ladies I hang around with in Naples, Florida? The ones you met when I took you down there after you and Jax broke up that first time? Well, Estelle is one of the members of the group. So, one year, we all show up and go down on the beach the first day to lay out in the sun. So, there’s all of us old ladies, lying on our backs, casting extra shadows out to the sides next to us, while Estelle is lying there, pretty as a picture, her boobs pointing straight up at the sun."

"They don’t sag when you get old?"

"Honey, they don’t move, period," Josie said emphatically.

Jerry nodded. "That’s right. That’s exactly what I meant before. Lack of proper jiggle factor."

Josie went on with her story. "So anyway, even though Estelle never came out and told us, we all knew HOW she had spent some of the money her rich husband left her." She looked at Jerry with a grim face. "We should have known when she kept saying she wanted to go shopping for new lingerie when the rest of us were going shopping for larger belts."

Brenda suddenly noticed that the music had stopped and Jax and Kimberly were no longer dancing. He was smiling broadly and coming back towards the table where the three of them were sitting. However, as soon as he sat down, he gave Jerry a glaring look. "Where the bloody h*ll were you?"

"Whatever do you mean, brother dearest?" Jerry said, acting the innocent.

"I *mean*, brother dear, why didn’t you come and rescue me when I was dancing with Kimberly?" He shook his head sadly. "I thought I would subjected to her inane chatter all evening. A fate worse than death." He looked at the three of them suspiciously. "So....what have the three of you been talking about? You all have a very guilty look."

Before any one of them could answer, their attention was drawn to a group of people moving across the floor near them. Carly was at the center, and she was speaking loudly about her commitment to the movement to impose stricter penalties for drunken driving. Several important representatives were in the group, and they nodded their agreement as she went on about the evils of alcohol.

What she didn’t anticipate was the natural field fertilizer hitting the air movement machine. As she passed the table where Josie, Jerry, Jax and Brenda were sitting, Josie was closest to Carly. Josie shifted in her chair ever so slightly, and put the tip of her foot out into the path of the group. Carly was so busy trying to impress the congressmen that she never saw it coming. Carly stumbled slightly when she tripped on Josie’s toe, which she rapidly pulled back beneath the table. Carly didn’t actually fall to the floor, but her balance was definitely impaired and she desperately tried to regain an even footing, despite the high heels she was wearing.

Jason, her husband, who had remained silent for much of the evening, immediately put his arms out to catch her. "Are you OK, Carly?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, I’m fine, honey," she answered through gritted teeth, although she saw that several of the congressmen were already mumbling to each other about her bobble. She smiled at them. "Must have been something on the floor that caused me to lose my balance."

Josie picked that particular moment to turn to Jerry and finish her hatchet job. She spoke loudly enough so that the group couldn’t help but overhear her. "So, Jerry, don’t you think it’s shameful how young people these days can’t seem to hold their liquor? I mean, they come to affairs like this and drink like fish, and then expect people to think that nothing’s up when they make fools of themselves later." She clucked her tongue. "I just think it’s a crying shame." She turned to the group that obviously had overheard her comments and pretended surprise. "Well, Mrs. Morgan, I didn’t see you standing there! And I was looking all over for you -- you left your drink here earlier. Isn’t this your double-strength Manhattan?"

Carly tried to smile gracefully. "No, I’m sure you must be mistaken, Mrs. Jacks. I think that was YOUR drink, wasn’t it?"

Jerry wasn’t about to let her get the upper hand. "Oh, I’m sure YOU must be the one who’s mistaken, Mrs. Morgan. Grandma can’t drink anything alcoholic because of the blood pressure medicine she’s taking, can you Grandma?"

Josie smiled angelically. "That’s right, Jerry." She batted her eyes at the Congressmen around Carly. "I’m just a helpless, weak old lady. And I ALWAYS follow my doctor’s orders, so since he says nothing alcoholic, I drink sparkling water." She turned to Jerry. "Would you be a dear and go get me another one, Jerry?" She held up a glass that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and Jerry took it, kissed her on the cheek, and smiled as he rose to leave the table. Josie gave the group another weak smile and then folded her hands primly on the table.

Carly looked like she could have cheerfully strangled Josie, but Jax chose that moment to change the focus. "Brenda!" he said loudly, "Would you care to dance with me?"

"Always, my darling," she answered, standing regally next to him. He took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor as Josie just smiled benignly at Carly.

Brenda walked through the door of their suite silently and Jax followed in behind her, closing and locking it. He dropped the keys on the sideboard, and then went up to stand behind her as she watched the city from the picture window. "A million dollars for your thoughts, Mrs. Jacks," he whispered in her ear. "You’ve been quiet ever since we left the ballroom. Something wrong?"

She turned around to face him and smiled at him as she traced the worry lines on his face with her finger. "Tell me again why I agreed to share you with all of the state of New York."

Jax put his arms around her. "Campaign getting to you already? That’s bad news, since we really haven’t even started yet." Brenda looked down at his feet and Jax tipped her face back up to his. "Did someone say something to you tonight that got you this upset?"

Brenda stared into his crystal blue eyes and somehow forgot every nasty insinuation that Carly had made during the evening. She saw the love there, and knew that Jax’s heart belonged to her and her alone. "I don’t want to think about any of that tonight, Jax. I just want to be with you. Just you and me -- the way we used to be."

Jax raised her fingers to his lips to kiss them. "The way we ALWAYS will be," he corrected her. His eyes twinkled in mischief. "Now, Mrs. Jacks, I’ve been wondering all evening what you’re wearing under that gown. Care to enlighten me?"

She returned his wicked smile. "Well, Mr. Jacks, as I always tell your brilliant daughter -- part of learning is investigating and discovering things for yourself."

"You are SUCH a good teacher, Mrs. Jacks," Jax replied, and he lowered his head to kiss her. His tongue teased at her lips and she opened them to him readily. It swept into the warm, wet cavity of her mouth and Brenda moved into his embrace, pressing her body up against him. Jax moaned softly as he felt her breasts pressing up against his chest, and Brenda reached around to shove his already unbuttoned dinner jacket off of his shoulders. She broke the kiss to look at him sexily while she undid the knot of his tie and began to unbutton his shirt. He watched her, running his fingers up and down her arms gently on the soft fabric, making her shiver with delight.

When she finally had his shirt undone, she pushed it off his shoulders, baring his magnificent chest to her heated gaze. She began to kiss his chest, running her fingers over his back lightly, but then he pulled back and took control of the situation. Jax hooked a finger under the neckline of Brenda’s gown at the shoulder and when he pulled it down, his eyes widened at the sight of her bare breasts. He leaned down to kiss and caress them, and she moaned aloud and buried her hands deep in his mink-soft hair.

As she felt her knees go weak, Jax swept her into his arms and carried her to the king-size bed. Clothing was discarded and soon they lay naked in each other’s arms, re-discovering all of the places that brought each other pleasure. Jax rolled Brenda beneath him and looked into her eyes. "I want to touch you, Jax," Brenda breathed, "I want to bring you to me." Jax smiled at her request and let out a long breath as she made good on her words. However, Brenda moaned with displeasure when he pulled away after only a few seconds. He teased the entrance to her femininity with his manhood, finally stretching out over her and pulling her arms over her head, lacing her fingers with his.

"So what were you expecting, my love?" Jax said on uneven breaths. "Do you want it hot and fast and over quick, or slow and delicious and lasting all night?"

Brenda squirmed under him and nipped at the corners of his mouth until she managed to gasp out her answer. "YES!"

Jax smiled contentedly. "That’s what I love about you, my dear. A woman who knows what she wants!"

Jax let go of her hands and moved down her body scattering kisses until she arched off the bed when he gave her the most intimate of kisses. She clutched at the bedsheets as he leisurely nibbled and loved her thoroughly with his tongue, causing her to raise her pitch.

"OK, Jax, that’s enough of the slow and delicious! I’m ready for the hot and fast now!" she whimpered.

He moved back over her and became one with her swiftly, causing her to gasp and bite her lip to keep from crying out. Jax nuzzled her neck and began to move again, and soon they both were spiraling out of control as they reached dizzying heights of passion.

As Brenda lay in his arms afterward, she traced little patterns on his bare chest. "Something wrong?" he asked softly.

Brenda nodded. "I think I screamed," she admitted in embarrassment.

Jax chuckled as she hid her face on his chest. "So? I would begin to think I was losing my touch if you didn’t!"

"I know. But it’s just ....well.....they’re USED to us doing that at the Port Charles Hotel. I mean, they stopped calling 9-1-1 after about the third time. But these people don’t know us -- we’ve never been here before. And you know I get so embarrassed trying to explain it to the paramedics."

Jax smiled. "Well, sweetie, don’t worry about it. I spoke to the manager earlier and ....um.....*prepared* him for our .....enthusiasm."

Brenda now looked truly shocked. "Jax.....you didn’t, did you?"

He rolled her over into the soft mattress. "Well, actually, I think I told him you would reach a higher pitch than that. Care to try again.....maybe an octave higher?"

Brenda’s eyes widened. "You WOULDN’T!"

But he did. And by the time they both drifted off to sleep, Brenda’s vocalizing rivaled the best coloratura soprano in Milan.

To be continued.....